Kaiser Chiefs: The Future is Medieval, CD review

The Future is Medieval is a collection of uninspiringly ponderous tracks. Rating:
* *

For their fourth album, the Kaiser Chiefs initially released 20 songs for download and allowed fans to pick their own track list and artwork. Now the band have whittled down their favourites onto one CD, but neither offering is satisfying musically. Their once-ebullient anthems have been replaced by a collection of mid-tempo, uninspiringly ponderous tracks, and while the influences of ELO and the Beatles are apparent, they’ve been used without any of the fun.